PALACE OF LUXURY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 79, 23 September 1911, Page 2 (Supplement)

PALACE OF LUXURY.

MAGNIFICENT NEW OPERA HOUSE. The London Opera House (says the Standard) which is being erected in Kingsway by .Air. Oscar Hammerslein is rapidly nearitjg completion. The building itself is practically finished, and an army of 1000 plasterers will take possession. Mr. Ifammersteiii's venture is being watched with great interest on both sides of the Atlantic, and a number of American millionaires are chartering an Atlantic liner to bring them to England for the purpose of witnessing the first performance on November 11.

-Mr. Ifammerstein is taking no half measures. In his preliminary prospectus he states that ''Grand opera, can succeed only when it is presented 'grand' in every detail; it must be grand in auditorium and on the stage; grand in singers, musicians, scenery, and costumes; Jts director and his staff must be imbued with the loftiest of purpose. Unhampered by any influences, 1 have succeeded in what will be found an incomparable ensemble. To be successful I must not teach; 1 must interest."

A WONDERFUL SCHEME. If thoroughness and attention to every requirement means success, Mr. Hammerstein is going to be eminently successful. There is a note of completeness about the whole undertaking. The work is a wonderful combination of speed and thoroughness. On November 1 last the excavations were commenced, and on November II next the curtain will rise lor the first time in one of the most beautiful theatres in the world. Three hundred men have been employed, and the number of hours worked up till Saturday was -570,000. In creating the foundations 24,000 tons of earth were excavated, and the quantities of material used have been 120 tons of granite, 2800 tons of sand, 2000 tons of ballast, 1000 tons of breeze for the floors, 3000 tons of Portland stone, 3% million bricks, 800 tons of steel, and, up to the present. 1500 tons of cement have been used.

THE INTERIOR ARRANGEMENTS. The Opera House is constructed to accommodate 2700 persons, and. 43 boxes are being constructed, including a handsome suite for the use of the King. The stage measures 00ft by 00ft, and is speciall constructed with a view to magnificent spectacular effects. A fireproof curtain will be provided, which in case of lire will be lowered and automatically flooded with water, while on the stage itself a lantern will be arranged which will open automatically in case of fire thus causing a draught to carry away the heat and smoke from the public portion of the house. The ground floor below the street level will be entirely devoted to stalls and boxes, and above the stalls suspended from the circle will be a complete tier of boxes, each with its own retiring room. Two other tiers are arranged on each side of the auditorium. Above the boxes will be the grand circle, and above that the lower and upper galleries: Every seat throughout the house will be fauteuil. The proscenium arch will be 45ft by 30ft, and somewhat funnel-shaped, to throw out the sound. The back of the circles and gallery will be screened off, thus preventing the audience from being disturbed by promenaders.

Tlui entrance hall will be OOffc by 30ft, and surrounded by a peristyle of Corinthian columns, the special feature of the frontage being the central window, 39ft in height. Statues illustrative of music and art stand up on the corners, and each end of the building is crowned with large groups of classic "statuary.' The work is being carried out entirely by British workmen, and only British material is used.